New Jersey Devils: 5 Strange Names On Stanley Cup

Turner Stevenson #24 of the New Jersey Devils celebrates with the Stanley Cup in the locker room after defeating the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in game seven of the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals at Continental Airlines Arena on June 9, 2003 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Devils defeated the Ducks 3-0 to win the Stanley Cup. (Photo by Dave Sandford/Getty Images/NHLI)
Turner Stevenson #24 of the New Jersey Devils celebrates with the Stanley Cup in the locker room after defeating the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in game seven of the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals at Continental Airlines Arena on June 9, 2003 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Devils defeated the Ducks 3-0 to win the Stanley Cup. (Photo by Dave Sandford/Getty Images/NHLI)
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New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils watch the raising of the banner. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

Steve Brûlé

This is where we start to get to the “who?!?!?” territory. When most people see the name Steve Brule, they think of this meme played by John C. Reilly. Instead, we’re talking about the NHL player who has his name etched on the Stanley Cup.

Going into the playoffs, Steve Brûlé had zero games of NHL experience. So for those doing the math, Brûlé got his name on the Stanley Cup without playing one regular-season NHL game. He spent five years with the Albany River Rats, but he didn’t get a chance until the one game where he replaced John Madden in the lineup.

That one game was enough for Lou to push for his name to be etched into the world of hockey forever. He went on to play two more games in the NHL. So, someone who played literally three NHL games has his name on Lord Stanley’s Cup while Pat Lafontaine and Marcel Dionne do not. What a sport.

Brûlé went to Europe during the 2004 lockout and never attempted to make the NHL again. His career lasted another few seasons, and he eventually retired in the Canadian LNAH league. It’s a far fall from playing with Jay Pandolfo and Claude Lemieux in the Eastern Conference Finals. The former 6th-round pick finally got his shot, and it turned out to be his only real shot in the league.